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Atchafalaya River at Krotz Springs

Highest listed crest 38.50 ftFlood stage 29.0 ft114 crests since 1912

The Atchafalaya River at Krotz Springs crested above flood stage 57 times among the 114 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1912 to 2025. The highest, 38.50 ft on May 15, 1927, was minor flooding, 9.50 feet above flood stage. 2 other gauges on the Atchafalaya River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 2 at their own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
38.50 ft
May 15, 1927
Flood stage
29.0 ft
Major flooding from 43.0 ft
Crests at major
0
57 above flood stage
Most recent flood crest
March 15, 2019
29.19 ft, minor flooding
Location
St. Landry Parish
Louisiana
Identifiers
NWS KRZL1
No USGS station

Flood stages

The thresholds the National Weather Service uses for this gauge today, and how many listed crests reached each.

Flood categories, Atchafalaya River at Krotz Springs
Action stage28.07Apr 23, 2008The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)29.057Mar 15, 2019Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage40.00—Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage43.00—Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

114 crests from 1912 to 2025. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Atchafalaya River at Krotz Springs, 1912 to 2025 1020304050ft Flood stage 29.0 ftMajor 43.0 ft May 5, 1912: 34.40 ft, minor floodingApr 24, 1913: 35.70 ft, minor floodingMar 5, 1915: 33.40 ft, minor floodingFeb 14, 1916: 36.80 ft, minor floodingMay 1, 1917: 34.40 ft, minor floodingMay 6, 1918: 29.20 ft, minor floodingApr 16, 1919: 33.00 ft, minor floodingMay 19, 1920: 35.40 ft, minor floodingMay 13, 1921: 33.00 ft, minor floodingMay 14, 1922: 37.55 ft, minor floodingApr 16, 1923: 33.90 ft, minor floodingJan 31, 1924: 31.20 ft, minor floodingNov 28, 1925: 26.40 ft, below flood stageApr 28, 1926: 29.40 ft, minor floodingMay 15, 1927: 38.50 ft, minor floodingJul 16, 1928: 31.90 ft, minor floodingJun 10, 1929: 35.70 ft, minor floodingFeb 9, 1930: 31.20 ft, minor floodingDec 31, 1931: 28.20 ft, action stageMar 4, 1932: 36.60 ft, minor floodingMay 9, 1933: 33.80 ft, minor floodingApr 17, 1934: 29.50 ft, minor floodingJul 5, 1935: 35.00 ft, minor floodingMay 2, 1936: 29.90 ft, minor floodingFeb 26, 1937: 37.60 ft, minor floodingApr 29, 1938: 33.20 ft, minor floodingApr 7, 1939: 33.60 ft, minor floodingMay 13, 1940: 28.70 ft, action stageNov 15, 1941: 25.60 ft, below flood stageApr 29, 1942: 30.90 ft, minor floodingJun 14, 1943: 32.80 ft, minor floodingMay 23, 1944: 35.10 ft, minor floodingApr 29, 1945: 38.10 ft, minor floodingJan 31, 1946: 32.60 ft, minor floodingMay 5, 1947: 31.60 ft, minor floodingApr 20, 1948: 32.60 ft, minor floodingFeb 22, 1949: 34.50 ft, minor floodingMar 5, 1950: 38.15 ft, minor floodingMar 12, 1951: 32.50 ft, minor floodingApr 18, 1952: 33.95 ft, minor floodingMay 30, 1953: 33.50 ft, minor floodingMay 17, 1954: 25.52 ft, below flood stageApr 13, 1955: 33.93 ft, minor floodingMar 5, 1956: 31.75 ft, minor floodingJun 12, 1957: 34.93 ft, minor floodingMay 24, 1958: 34.30 ft, minor floodingMar 3, 1959: 28.55 ft, action stageApr 25, 1960: 29.90 ft, minor floodingMay 31, 1961: 35.50 ft, minor floodingApr 15, 1962: 34.85 ft, minor floodingApr 7, 1963: 31.40 ft, minor floodingApr 4, 1964: 28.75 ft, action stageApr 22, 1965: 30.00 ft, minor floodingApr 30, 1966: 22.90 ft, below flood stageJun 4, 1967: 26.70 ft, below flood stageJun 18, 1968: 28.95 ft, action stageFeb 23, 1969: 29.35 ft, minor floodingMay 19, 1970: 29.35 ft, minor floodingMar 15, 1971: 26.45 ft, below flood stageDec 31, 1972: 27.78 ft, below flood stageMay 15, 1973: 38.40 ft, minor floodingFeb 9, 1974: 31.60 ft, minor floodingApr 17, 1975: 35.43 ft, minor floodingMay 18, 1976: 24.20 ft, below flood stageApr 23, 1977: 21.75 ft, below flood stageApr 11, 1978: 24.40 ft, below flood stageApr 27, 1979: 31.40 ft, minor floodingApr 16, 1980: 26.10 ft, below flood stageJun 15, 1981: 19.40 ft, below flood stageDec 28, 1982: 26.50 ft, below flood stageJun 10, 1983: 31.06 ft, minor floodingMay 29, 1984: 27.58 ft, below flood stageMar 21, 1985: 25.90 ft, below flood stageDec 20, 1986: 20.65 ft, below flood stageMar 17, 1987: 21.70 ft, below flood stageJan 10, 1988: 21.98 ft, below flood stageMar 13, 1989: 24.59 ft, below flood stageJun 11, 1990: 25.85 ft, below flood stageJan 26, 1991: 26.80 ft, below flood stageDec 31, 1992: 19.85 ft, below flood stageApr 26, 1993: 25.16 ft, below flood stageMay 10, 1994: 25.50 ft, below flood stageJun 19, 1995: 26.20 ft, below flood stageJun 8, 1996: 22.95 ft, below flood stageMar 28, 1997: 28.66 ft, action stageMay 14, 1998: 23.66 ft, below flood stageMay 18, 1998: 23.60 ft, below flood stageFeb 16, 1999: 24.82 ft, below flood stageApr 4, 2000: 15.35 ft, below flood stageApr 17, 2000: 16.47 ft, below flood stageMar 6, 2001: 22.70 ft, below flood stageMar 12, 2001: 24.40 ft, below flood stageJun 7, 2002: 24.20 ft, below flood stageMar 12, 2003: 23.50 ft, below flood stageDec 19, 2004: 21.40 ft, below flood stageFeb 3, 2005: 25.70 ft, below flood stageMar 29, 2006: 16.60 ft, below flood stageJan 26, 2007: 21.70 ft, below flood stageApr 23, 2008: 28.40 ft, action stageMay 28, 2009: 26.86 ft, below flood stageFeb 17, 2010: 23.47 ft, below flood stageMay 25, 2011: 32.00 ft, minor floodingJan 2, 2012: 19.61 ft, below flood stageMay 22, 2013: 22.61 ft, below flood stageJan 17, 2016: 29.96 ft, minor flooding; 666,576 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2017: 26.75 ft, below flood stageMar 20, 2018: 29.28 ft, minor floodingMar 15, 2019: 29.19 ft, minor floodingApr 19, 2020: 27.83 ft, below flood stageApr 15, 2021: 24.50 ft, below flood stageMar 24, 2022: 21.94 ft, below flood stageApr 10, 2023: 22.29 ft, below flood stageMay 23, 2024: 21.48 ft, below flood stageMay 3, 2025: 26.98 ft, below flood stage Highest, 38.50 ft, May 15, 1927 192019401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Atchafalaya River at Krotz Springs 1910s: 7 1920s: 9 9 1930s: 9 1940s: 8 1950s: 8 1960s: 6 1970s: 5 1980s: 1 1990s: 0 2000s: 0 2010s: 4 2020s: 0 1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  1. These are the crests the local National Weather Service office lists for the gauge: the highest on record and recent crests. Lesser floods between them may be missing, so counts by decade are a floor.
  2. Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 114 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Atchafalaya River at Krotz Springs
1May 15, 192738.50+9.50Minor—
2May 15, 197338.40+9.40Minor—
3Mar 5, 195038.15+9.15Minor—
4Apr 29, 194538.10+9.10Minor—
5Feb 26, 193737.60+8.60Minor—
6May 14, 192237.55+8.55Minor—
7Feb 14, 191636.80+7.80Minor—
8Mar 4, 193236.60+7.60Minor—
9Apr 24, 191335.70+6.70Minor—
10Jun 10, 192935.70+6.70Minor—
11May 31, 196135.50+6.50Minor—
12Apr 17, 197535.43+6.43Minor—
13May 19, 192035.40+6.40Minor—
14May 23, 194435.10+6.10Minor—
15Jul 5, 193535.00+6.00Minor—
16Jun 12, 195734.93+5.93Minor—
17Apr 15, 196234.85+5.85Minor—
18Feb 22, 194934.50+5.50Minor—
19May 5, 191234.40+5.40Minor—
20May 1, 191734.40+5.40Minor—
21May 24, 195834.30+5.30Minor—
22Apr 18, 195233.95+4.95Minor—
23Apr 13, 195533.93+4.93Minor—
24Apr 16, 192333.90+4.90Minor—
25May 9, 193333.80+4.80Minor—
26Apr 7, 193933.60+4.60Minor—
27May 30, 195333.50+4.50Minor—
28Mar 5, 191533.40+4.40Minor—
29Apr 29, 193833.20+4.20Minor—
30Apr 16, 191933.00+4.00Minor—
31May 13, 192133.00+4.00Minor—
32Jun 14, 194332.80+3.80Minor—
33Jan 31, 194632.60+3.60Minor—
34Apr 20, 194832.60+3.60Minor—
35Mar 12, 195132.50+3.50Minor—
36May 25, 201132.00+3.00Minor—
37Jul 16, 192831.90+2.90Minor—
38Mar 5, 195631.75+2.75Minor—
39May 5, 194731.60+2.60Minor—
40Feb 9, 197431.60+2.60Minor—
41Apr 7, 196331.40+2.40Minor—
42Apr 27, 197931.40+2.40Minor—
43Jan 31, 192431.20+2.20Minor—
44Feb 9, 193031.20+2.20Minor—
45Jun 10, 198331.06+2.06Minor—
46Apr 29, 194230.90+1.90Minor—
47Apr 22, 196530.00+1.00Minor—
48Jan 17, 201629.96+0.96Minor666,576
49May 2, 193629.90+0.90Minor—
50Apr 25, 196029.90+0.90Minor—

The worst floods along the Atchafalaya River

For this gauge's highest crests, the other gauges on the Atchafalaya River that crested above flood stage within a week.

May 15, 1927: 38.50 ft here, minor flooding

  • SimmesportLA · May 16, 1927 · 59.13 ft · Major · its highest
  • MelvilleLA · May 14, 1927 · 46.98 ft · Moderate · its highest

May 15, 1973: 38.40 ft here, minor flooding

  • SimmesportLA · May 15, 1973 · 54.78 ft · Major
  • MelvilleLA · May 14, 1973 · 44.43 ft · Minor

March 5, 1950: 38.15 ft here, minor flooding

Gauges on the Atchafalaya River

Flood gauges sharing the river's name, linked within 80 miles of one another.

Flood gauges on the Atchafalaya River
Butte La RoseLA20.027.28 ft, May 23, 19730
Bayou Sorrel LandsideLA6.07.80 ft, Aug 17, 20160
Bayou Sorrel LockLA12.018.10 ft, May 23, 19730
Krotz Springs this gaugeLA29.038.50 ft, May 15, 19270
MelvilleLA34.046.98 ft, May 14, 19270
Morgan CityLA6.010.53 ft, May 28, 19730
SimmesportLA40.059.13 ft, May 16, 192715

Other gauges in St. Landry Parish

Flood gauges in St. Landry Parish
Melville34.046.98 ft, May 14, 19270
Drainage Structure19.020.60 ft, Feb 7, 19740
Washington28.035.29 ft, May 22, 19531
Eunice16.022.37 ft, Aug 15, 20167
Palmetto26.027.55 ft, Jul 19, 20190

St. Landry Parish: every hazard · River floods across the country · Louisiana

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge KRZL1, retrieved October 30, 2026. Stages in feet on the gauge's own datum, not elevation. Crests are as the National Weather Service lists them; preliminary values may be revised.